The present invention relates to a method of making golf bags and golf bags made by using such a method. More particularly, the present invention relates to golf bags having longitudinal internal partitions or dividers and a method of making such golf bags.
Golf is a very popular outdoor sporting game which is played on a golf course. A typical golf course has 18 holes with an average yardage of about 5,000 meters which a golfer has to cover in order to complete all the holes in a normal way. Golf courses having 9, 36 and 72 holes are common variations of a standard golf course which are provided to suit players of different standards and demands and the yardage is usually proportional to the number of holes. In playing a golf game, different golf clubs, for example, woods, irons and putters, are usually required to impart an optimal drive to the ball and to hit the golf ball towards and into a hole during the various phases of a golf game.
Golf clubs are usually kept together in a golf bag for easy storage and convenient transport to and from courses and between holes. Golf bags are usually designed to allow easy and quick retrieval of the various clubs during a game. A typical golf bag is an elongate bag with a rigid moulded top collar and a closed moulded bottom member at its longitudinal ends together with a circumferential enclosure extending between the top collar and the bottom member. The top collar is usually supported from the bottom member by a plurality of rigid stays which are usually distributed around the edge of the bottom member and which are typically rigid plastic posts extending between the top collar and the bottom member.
Golf clubs are usually stored in a golf bag with club heads protruding from the top collar and handles resting on the upper surface of the bottom member. To avoid the handles from rocking about in the bottom of a golf bag during transportation or from entangling with each other which may cause damage, breakage or undesirable scratches, good golf bags are always formed with a number of small compartments which are small enough to limit excessive and undesirable movement of the clubs. The compartments are preferably formed by flexible partitioning or divider straps which are taut and which extend between the top collar and the bottom member of a golf bag. To provide for a framework of the compartments, a grid of rigid ridges which defines the peripheral walls of the compartments is usually formed within the aperture defined by the top collar. Flexible straps made for example of fabrics, nylon or polyester are preferred because they are light and friendly to the shafts of golf clubs. However, golf bags with such partitioning straps or dividers are difficult to form within a golf bag because of the elongate shape of a golf bag and because of their light and flexible characteristics. In general, golf bags with light and flexible partitioning straps are usually made by one of the two more commonly known methods.
In the first commonly known method, flexible and light dividing straps having a length approximately equal to the length of the golf bag are first attached to the upper surface of the bottom member. The attachment may, for example, be by direct sewing of one end of the dividing strap onto the upper surface of the bottom member or by first sewing one end of the straps to a rigid intermediary plate. The intermediary plate, on which there are already sewn a plurality of strap ends, is then attached to the upper surface of the bottom member. The strap ends are usually attached to the bottom member in a manner so that the straps, when connected to the ridges formed on the top collar member, will form a plurality of peripheral walls of the compartments which are generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the golf bag.
Each of the strap ends which are not attached to the bottom member are preferably provided with a piece of cushioning material which forms an extension to the strap ends. The cushioning material is sized, shaped and cut so that it can fully wrap around the ridges on the top collar member and form a protective cushioning on both sides of the ridges to protect the club shafts from agitating with the hard ridges. The cushioning member is usually provided with pressure fastening means, for example, a pair of Velcro(copyright) fastener, so that the cushioning member can be secured onto the ridges on the top collar member with the ridges enclosed by the cushioning member and that the partitioning straps will be taut after the cushioning members have been properly wrapped around and secured underneath the ridges.
However, there are several known shortcomings of this method. Firstly, the preferred strap members are light and flexible with a width that is comparable to the width of a golf bag, the strap ends may be caught inside the golf bag when a semi-finished golf bag is placed up-side-down in order to recover the cushioned strap ends by gravity for securing onto the ridges. Secondly, the flexible straps will also easily get entangled with each other and it may be difficult to identify the correct strap end which corresponds to a particular ridge. Thirdly, as the overall cushioning formed on the top collar is formed by a collection of individually formed cushioning members, there are unsightly gaps between adjoining cushioning members which are not compatible with the expected appearance of a good quality and expensive golf bag.
In the second known method, the ridges are firstly and fully wrapped with a cushioning material which are sewn together so that unsightly gaps between adjoining branches of individual cushioning members are minimised. Flexible straps which are similar to that described in the first known method above are attached with one of the ends to the edge of the cushioning members which are underneath the ridges. The longitudinal edges of all the flexible straps are preferably joined together with the other longitudinal end connected to a rigid intermediary plate so that all the flexible straps can be joined to the moulded bottom member with a small number of fastening means. To provide for an intermediate alignment between the rigid intermediary plate and the corresponding bottom member, a plurality of positioning means, for example, pieces of sticky tape, placed at corresponding positions on the upper surface of the bottom member and the lower surface of the rigid intermediary plate, are provided. After the intermediary plate has been temporarily positioned, the intermediary plate and the flexible compartments will be permanently affixed onto the bottom member by riveting or other appropriate means. However, as the partitioning straps are very light and flexible and the bottom member is located at a distance away from the top collar, forming the temporarily positioning alignment is not easy and this procedure can be relatively time-consuming. Furthermore, a relatively bulky riveting machine having a riveting arm of a length comparable to the length of a golf bag would be required to rivet the intermediary plate permanently onto the bottom member.
Hence, it is desirable that an improved method for forming partitioning straps within an elongate golf bag can be provide to alleviate the shortcomings associated with the known methods.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of forming partitioning straps within an elongate golf bag so that the shortcomings associated with known methods of making such golf bags can be alleviated. To provide makers or manufacturers of partitioned golf bags with an alternative or useful choice of the method of making the same is also an object of the present invention.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of making a golf bag in which the golf bag includes a first and a second substantially rigid moulded end members disposed at the longitudinal ends of said golf bag, the method includes combining and fastening a first and a second intermediate sub-assembly wherein said first intermediate sub-assembly includes a first moulded end member, an intermediate member, a plurality of rigid stay members extending between said first moulded member and said intermediate member and at least a flexible partitioning strap between said first moulded end member and said intermediate member, and said second intermediate sub-assembly includes a second moulded end member and an enclosure having a first and a second longitudinal open ends wherein said first open end of said enclosure is connected to said second moulded member and said second end of said enclosure is adapted to be connected to said first moulded end member.
Preferably, in the above said method, either said first or second moulded member is formed with a transversal aperture and a grid of partitioning ridges are formed within the aperture for connecting to the partitioning strap.
Preferably, in the said method, said partitioning straps are substantially taut when the said first intermediate sub-assembly has been fully erected and the straps duly attached to both the first moulded member and the intermediate member.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf bag which includes a first moulded end member, a second moulded end member, an intermediate member, a plurality of substantially rigid stay members supporting said top collar member from said intermediate bottom member, at least a flexible partitioning strap extending between said intermediate member and said first moulded end member wherein said first and second moulded end members are at the longitudinal ends of said golf bag and wherein said intermediate member is placed intermediate between said stay members and said first moulded end member.
Preferably, said first moulded end member is the top collar member of said golf bag.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf bag which includes a first and a second substantially rigid moulded end members disposed at the longitudinal ends wherein said golf bag includes a first and a second intermediate sub-assembly wherein said first intermediate sub-assembly includes a first moulded end member, an intermediate member, a plurality of substantially rigid stay members extending between said first moulded member and said intermediate member and at least a flexible partitioning strap between said first moulded end member and said intermediate member, and said second intermediate sub-assembly includes a second moulded end member and an enclosure having a first and a second longitudinal open ends wherein said first open end of said enclosure is connected to said second moulded member and said second end of said enclosure is adapted to be connected to said first moulded end member.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf bag having a substantially rigid top member, a substantially rigid bottom member, a plurality of rigid stays separating said top and bottom members, an outer cover and at least one internal partitioning member including at least one intermediate member attached to one end of said plurality of stays and at least one internal partitioning member, said at least one intermediate member attached to either said top or bottom member, and a distal end of said plurality of stays and said at least one internal partitioning member from said at least are intermediate member attached directly, or indirectly, the bottom or top member respectively. .